Most Atlanta Braves fans knew it, but now it’s official, Austin Riley was the best third baseman in all of baseball during the 2021 season.
What an incredible ride it has been for Austin Riley in 2021 helping the Atlanta Braves win the NL East and then the World Series while finishing the season as a top 10 MVP.
And now he can add the best third baseman in all of baseball to his 2021 season as he was named All-MLB First-Team.
It’s crazy to look back now and think that the Braves brought in Jake Lamb in Spring Training as possible insurance in case Riley didn’t work out.
There ended up not being much of a competition, and it was pretty apparent early on that Riley had made some adjustments at the plate.
He didn’t exactly tear it up at Spring Training, but the at-bats were better.
That proved true in April as he hit .299 that month with a .409 OBP. The power came along in May as he hit 7 home runs that month and had an OPS of 1.005.
June was the only month he went cold, but after that he OPSed 1.082, .974, and .851 in the final three months of the season.
In the postseason he slashed .277/.309/.446 with a .755 OPS and 2 home runs. While the at-bats weren’t as consistent as during the regular season he did come up with some big hits – driving in 8 runs.
Not only that, but he played exceptional defense at third base — particularly in the second half of the season and postseason.
What an amazing season from beginning to end for the Braves third baseman.
Braves have 3 Others on All-MLB Team
While Riley was the only Braves player on the First-Team, they had three others named to the Second-Team.
Freddie Freeman has been an All-MLB player all three years they’ve had this team. He has his second second-team nomination after being named the best first baseman in baseball last year when he won the NL MVP.
Max Fried made the First-Team last year but gets demoted to the Second-Team this year after a very good season. He was the best pitcher in baseball the second half of the season.
And after being on the ballot for three straight years, Ozzie Albies finally makes it on as an All-MLB Second-Team player.
While the average and OPS numbers weren’t great, not many players can score 100, drive in 100, and hit 30 home runs. Well deserved for Ozzie.
Congrats to all four who were selected to the All-MLB teams and I hope to see them and others on here next year.